大象传媒

Memories of World War 2 - Mrs Betty Chatterjee

( Betty Chatterjee wrote these notes for her family in March 1991)

L
ondon 鈥� September 3rd 1939 鈥� World War 2 declared. How well I remember that day!
The news came over the radio and within an hour the sirens sounded. I, with my family, went into the coal cellar for shelter. It wasn鈥檛 very pleasant sitting in the coal dust. After a while, the all clear sounded. (I think they were testing). My sister and I spent hours sweeping and scrubbing to make the cellar habitable in case we had to spend our nights there. Little did we realise then what we would have to endure in the next few years. All the windows in the house had to be criss-crossed with strong sticky tape to stop the glass splintering; they then had curtains of heavy black material to stop any light showing outside. Air raid wardens patrolled the streets and if a small chink of light was showing they would shout 鈥淧ut that light out!鈥� Everyone was issued with a gas mask, which we had to carry with us at all times along with an identity card.
We had a corrugated metal shelter that was partly sunk into the earth; the top was covered in earth, and flowers were planted on the top. Sand bags were piled high in front of the entrance. This was called an Anderson Shelter. It was very damp and cold in the winter so we had a steel shelter put indoors. This was called a Morrison Shelter. It was like a large table 6ft by 4ft 6in and it had steel netting around the sides. Lots of people took their bedding each night and went down the tube stations and slept on the platforms or went into public shelters. It was sad to see so many children saying goodbye to their parents on the start of their evacuation out of London. Most hospitals had to evacuate their patients to make room for the war casualties.
The bombing became very heavy each night and one could watch our fighter planes going up to do battle with the German planes. It was very easy to see them because the sky was so lit up with the glow from so many fires burning in the City and the Eastend of London. The Germans used to drop 鈥淢olotov cocktails鈥�. These were small firebombs which used to set fire to the roofs of buildings making it difficult for the fire brigade to reach them. Later came the 鈥淒oodle Bugs鈥� which was another name for the V1s (pilot less planes). It was awful waiting for the engine to cut out and the terrible explosion as it hit the earth. Worst of all came the rocket bombs (V2s) because no warning could be given for people to take shelter. These mostly came in the daytime when there were so many people about their daily work 鈥� which caused many casualties. I remember seeing, in one of these attacks, a double decker bus full of passengers on their way home from work on the roof of a public house where it had been blasted by the explosion. There are so many things one could write it would fill a book.
I must not forget to mention the ration books. What problems for the housewife, queuing up for food and trying to eke out the meagre rations. Also clothing was rationed. We had egg powder, as we couldn鈥檛 get fresh eggs. There was no bacon but we could buy Macon, which was strips of mutton. Hence the 鈥淢鈥� instead of the 鈥淏鈥�. The best food went to feed the troops, which was right. But lots of food was sold on the Black Market for those who could afford to pay high prices.
After 10 months of surviving the London Blitz we decided one night to sleep in the Anderson shelter, as it was such a warm night. It was 5am when we heard the planes overhead and suddenly the noise of a high explosive bomb as it came hurtling down. Fortunately, behind us we had a high brick wall and beyond that the lawns of a church and vicarage. The bomb fell and buried deep in the lawns before it exploded. We were lifted up in the air for a few feet and all the soil from the top of the shelter came down on us. Fortunately, we were not hurt. Our house was badly damaged 鈥� we had no doors or windows left. Furniture was upturned and everywhere was covered in soot and brick dust which had come down the chimneys. We stayed with friends for a few weeks. My husband had to live in at the Indian Embassy in London where he worked, as it was impossible for him to make the journeys each day.
I decided to join the WAAFs in the Balloon Command. After training at various places I was posted to Torpoint in Cornwall just over the ferry from Plymouth. I was in the plotting room, giving orders to all the balloon sites around the coast. If German planes were approaching, the balloons had to be raised and brought down again when our aircraft went to fight them. One evening, on my day off, a friend and myself decided to go to a cinema in Plymouth. We had only been in the cinema for an hour when the sirens went. We rushed out hoping to get back to our station but when we reached the ferry we were told it wouldn鈥檛 be crossing until the all clear sounded. The bombing started and we ran and knocked on the door of a house on Plymouth Hoe and asked if we could come in for shelter. An old lady opened the door and I think she was so pleased to see two girls in uniform she almost pulled us indoors. She was living alone and was very frightened. It was a terrible night. The bombing went on until 5.50am. I was on duty at 6am but I had phoned my station early in the evening to tell them where we were and that we couldn鈥檛 get back until the ferry started. The old lady produced a bottle of rum, which we finished between the three of us during the night. After an hour鈥檚 sleep we made our way to the ferry and we couldn鈥檛 believe the devastation of Plymouth. It was as bad as the London Blitz.
After two years, I was posted to London. It was back again to nightly bombings and daytime V1s and rockets. At least now I could be with my husband on my time off.
I was seven months pregnant when I got my discharge. I had to return to my damaged home and work hard to make it fit to live in. My daughter was born there in the middle of an air raid with only my sister to help me as my doctor had been called away to someone injured in the air raid.
I am almost 77 years old now, but the memories of those dreadful years will always remain with me. I consider myself one of the lucky ones to have survived.

NOTE!! THIS ARTICLE WAS COPIED AND PASTED FROM A WORD DOCUMENT AND HAS LEFT OUT IN THIS FORM THE DROPPED CAPITAL,BOXED HEADING AND TWO FOOTNOTES! IT LOOKS ELEGANT IN THE ORIGINAL FORM BUT NOT LIKE THIS.NEITHER WAS IT EASY TO ENTER THESE NOTES NOR AMMEND THEM.ALSO LEFT OUT ITALICS AND BOLD USAGE.

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